It is safe to assume that the finer points of 20th-century architecture have not intruded greatly on Wayne Rooney's world. But the £27m Manchester United football prodigy has been accused of destroying it in the process of creating his £3.5m home in Cheshire.
The player has had a 1930s detached property pulled down near Prestbury to make way for his three-storey modern mansion with a pink interior swimming pool. Residents of the area, which some outsiders call "Gold Trafford" in recognition of the number of Manchester United footballers who live there, have maintained a diplomatic silence about the move, despite the triple garage, built-in cinema and neo-Classical pillars. But a local building developer, John Tilly, has accused Rooney and his fiancée, Coleen McLoughlin, of needlessly destroying a valuable piece of architecture.
"I don't blame them for wanting a nice house, but they are destroying a bit of heritage," he said. "Some of the new houses are horrendous, disgusting - with fake pillars and marble bathrooms. I used to live next door to the place and it makes me angry to see others tearing down good examples of architecture to make a profit."
Thelma Jackson, a local councillor, claims Rooney's work has set off a fashion for bulldozing properties in Cheshire villages such as Prestbury and neighbouring Mottram St Andrew.
"These rebuilds are a disruptive nightmare destroying the village - they are noisy and don't fit in with what is still a semi-rural area," she said. "And what a waste of perfectly good houses - it's a case of more money than sense."
Ms Jackson claims that she is receiving at least one complaint a week from residents about so-called "mansion mania". She said: "People with money want to live in Prestbury to show off. They've got two kids but want eight rooms - and the council are letting these planning applications through. It's something we will regret in the future. We're losing part of our history."
The trend to knock down old properties has been prompted by a moratorium on green-field residential developments, in place until 2011, which has been imposed by Macclesfield Borough Council. Football players such as Rooney and Rio Ferdinand, who decided to settle a stone's throw from the home of their manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, must build replacement dwellings on sites already occupied.
Distaste for Rooney's building reaches well beyond Cheshire. Will Alsop, the architect of the award-winning Peckham Library in London, says he is " horrified" that Rooney would want to live in the place, which has been given the moniker "Waynesor Castle". "I think it will make him a member of the Old Fart's Brigade - why would he want to live in something like that?" he said.
The architectural editor at Building Design magazine has described it as "obviously in the neo-Georgian style and maybe in the neo, neo-Georgian style."
Rooney is evidently unmoved, however, and can point to his use of BBC television's Changing Rooms designer Laura McCree for his interior designs.
A spokesman for Macclesfield council said Rooney had operated within planning rules: "Local planning authorities cannot impose architectural styles or tastes," he said. "Neither should they stifle originality through a requirement to conform to certain development styles or forms."
Mansion mania
David Beckham "Beckingham Palace" is the king of all footballers' residences, a £3m "Georgian" house near Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire. It boasts an indoor pool, helicopter landing pad, snooker room and music studio.
Ryan Giggs The Manchester United winger has upset his neighbours by knocking down a Victorian mansion in Worsley, Manchester, to make way for a six-bedroom modern house with pool and gym. He kept the sundial from the front wall.
Roy Keane Bulldozed another 1930s residence at Hale, Cheshire, to make way for his home with indoor swimming pool, gym, five bedrooms, four bathrooms and family room. He commutes to his new club, Glasgow Celtic.
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